StimCardio has closed an oversubscribed $30 million Series A, its first since rebranding from CardiaCare, to carry Rhyvive — a wrist-worn device that pairs physiological sensing with non-invasive median nerve stimulation — through a larger pivotal study and toward a first FDA submission. Metis MedTech, the family office of medtech entrepreneur and StimCardio board member John Slump, led the 29 October 2026 round, joined by Catalyst Health Ventures and other new and existing investors.
The round in four figures
Figures from StimCardio's own announcements and the NeuroPulse pilot results release.
What an ablation leaves unfinished
Catheter ablation is the standard escalation when drugs no longer control atrial fibrillation, but it does not reliably end the problem: by the company's own citation, roughly 30% to 40% of ablation patients see their AFib recur. StimCardio is betting that gap is addressable without another procedure. Rhyvive is a wrist-worn, closed-loop system that senses a patient's physiological state and delivers non-invasive stimulation to the median nerve — a vagal-pathway approach to suppressing the kind of electrical disorganization that drives arrhythmia recurrence, worn rather than implanted or infused.
The company, previously known as CardiaCare, was founded in Los Angeles in January 2015 by Amos Ziv and Tsahi Holand. Amir Soltanianzadeh now serves as CEO. StimCardio's technology remains restricted under U.S. law to investigational use; Rhyvive has not been cleared or approved by FDA and is not available for sale.
“Our vision is to establish non-invasive neuromodulation as a new therapeutic category in cardiac electrophysiology.” Amir Soltanianzadeh, CEO, StimCardio Medical — 29 October 2026 announcement
What a sham-controlled pilot actually showed
The Series A follows NeuroPulse, a three-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot presented at HRX Live 2026 and published in Heart Rhythm as “Non-Invasive Median Nerve Stimulation with a Wearable Stimulator to Reduce Atrial Arrhythmia Recurrence after Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.” Of 77 randomized patients with paroxysmal or persistent AFib, 59 were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. At six months following a 60-day blanking period, 90.0% of device patients were free of atrial arrhythmias versus 80.8% on sham — a difference the company itself does not describe as statistically significant on that primary measure.
A separate, post-blanking sensitivity analysis found fewer recurrence events with the device: 12, against 28 on sham (p=0.025). That is a secondary analysis, not the trial's primary endpoint, and the company reported no serious adverse events tied to the device or the stimulation itself. StimCardio has not disclosed a registry number for NeuroPulse or for the planned NeuroPulse 2 pivotal study.
Three things the pilot leaves StimCardio betting on
A signal, not yet a result
The six-month freedom-from-arrhythmia endpoint missed statistical significance; the stronger signal sits in a post-blanking sensitivity analysis the company is relying on NeuroPulse 2 to confirm at pivotal scale.
An add-on, not a replacement
Rhyvive is positioned to follow ablation, not substitute for it — aimed at the roughly 30% to 40% of ablation patients the company says see AFib recur, rather than at ablation's broader market.
A repeat exit for its lead investor
Metis MedTech's John Slump previously backed Farapulse (acquired by Boston Scientific) before leading StimCardio's round and joining its board — a bet from an investor with cardiac-device exits behind him, not a guarantee of this one.
Sizing a category that doesn't fully exist yet
Rhyvive does not compete for ablation volume so much as for the margin that is left over once ablation is done. Published forecasts size the ablation market itself in the single-digit billions by 2030, but none of them break out a market for post-ablation neuromodulation adjuncts, because the category is still StimCardio's to define.
The ablation market Rhyvive sits beside, not inside
$3.92B → $8.50B
Global atrial fibrillation ablation market, 2025 to 2030, as forecast by Mordor Intelligence (Global Atrial Fibrillation Surgery report, via GIIResearch), against a broader atrial fibrillation devices forecast from Global Industry Analysts.
Sources: Mordor Intelligence, Global Atrial Fibrillation Surgery market report (via GIIResearch) · Global Industry Analysts, Global Atrial Fibrillation Devices Market (via GIIResearch Korea)
Regulatory News outlook
We expect wearable neuromodulation to stay a narrow, single-digit-percent add-on to ablation rather than a stand-alone category through 2030 — a few hundred million dollars of the ablation market's growth, not a double-digit share of it.
How we got here: Applying the company's own cited 30%-to-40% post-ablation recurrence rate to Mordor Intelligence's $8.5 billion 2030 ablation-market figure, even modest adoption of an adjunct device within that recurrence population computes to a few hundred million dollars — a slice of the category, not a reshaping of it.
Rhyvive against how recurrence gets managed today
| Approach | Invasiveness | Evidence | Regulatory status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhyvive (StimCardio) | Wearable, non-invasive median nerve stimulation | 77-patient randomized sham-controlled pilot | Investigational; De Novo prep underway |
| Repeat catheter ablation | Invasive, catheter-based procedure | Standard of care, extensive trial record | FDA-cleared devices in routine use |
| Antiarrhythmic drug therapy | Non-invasive, oral medication | Decades of trial evidence | FDA-approved drug class |
| Implantable vagal-nerve stimulators (general) | Implanted, surgical | Studied mainly outside AFib-recurrence setting | Approved for other indications, not this use |
From company announcements and public clinical literature; not a clinical comparison. No implantable vagal-nerve stimulator is approved specifically for post-ablation AFib recurrence.
From a 2015 seed stage to a $30 million round
StimCardio's path from CardiaCare to a Series A
- January 2015
Founded as CardiaCare
Amos Ziv and Tsahi Holand found the company in Los Angeles to develop closed-loop neuromodulation for cardiac rhythm disorders.
- 2026
NeuroPulse pilot reported
A three-center, randomized, sham-controlled pilot of 77 patients is presented at HRX Live 2026 and published in Heart Rhythm.
- 29 October 2026
$30 million Series A closes
Metis MedTech leads an oversubscribed round, joined by Catalyst Health Ventures and other investors; John Slump joins the board.
- Ahead
NeuroPulse 2 pivotal study
Planned to test whether adding Rhyvive to ablation improves outcomes against ablation alone; no start date disclosed.
- Ahead
De Novo submission to FDA
Preparation is underway, per the company; no submission date has been disclosed.
What NeuroPulse 2 has to settle
StimCardio's pitch rests on a pilot whose headline endpoint did not reach statistical significance, which is precisely why a pivotal study is the honest next step rather than an optional one. NeuroPulse 2 is designed to test the sharper question: does adding Rhyvive to catheter ablation improve clinical outcomes compared with ablation alone, at a scale large enough to answer it. StimCardio has not disclosed the study's planned enrollment, primary endpoint or expected completion date.
- NeuroPulse 2: a larger pivotal study, planned but not yet detailed publicly — no registered trial, enrollment target or completion date disclosed.
- Regulatory pathway: the company describes a planned De Novo submission to FDA; Rhyvive has no prior predicate device.
- Investor board seat: John Slump, CEO and founder of lead investor Metis MedTech, is joining StimCardio's board as part of the round.
- Device status today: investigational only, restricted under U.S. law; not available for purchase or prescription.
What is not yet public: NeuroPulse 2's design, StimCardio's full investor list beyond Metis MedTech and Catalyst Health Ventures, and any timeline for the De Novo submission itself. Regulatory News will update this page as those details are confirmed.
Sources & further reading
- StimCardio, “StimCardio Closes Oversubscribed $30 Million Series A Financing to Advance Wearable Therapeutic for Atrial Fibrillation,” press release, 29 October 2026. prnewswire.com
- StimCardio, “StimCardio's NeuroPulse Study Reports Substantial Reduction in Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation Events Via Non-Invasive Wearable Neuromodulation Following Ablation,” press release. prnewswire.com
- MobiHealthNews, “StimCardio garners $30M for wearable atrial fibrillation therapy.” mobihealthnews.com
- citybiz, “StimCardio Raises $30M Series A to Advance Wearable for Atrial Fibrillation.” citybiz.co
- Medical Device Network, “StimCardio secures $30m in Series A round for wearable AF therapy.” medicaldevice-network.com
- Mordor Intelligence, Global Atrial Fibrillation Surgery market report (via GIIResearch). giiresearch.com
- Global Industry Analysts, Global Atrial Fibrillation Devices Market (via GIIResearch Korea). giikorea.co.kr
Regulatory News reports on public regulatory documents. It is not legal advice, and the primary sources above govern. If we have made an error, we will say so in public: see corrections.
Frequently asked questions
What did StimCardio announce?
An oversubscribed $30 million Series A financing, announced 29 October 2026 and led by Metis MedTech (the family office of board member John Slump), with Catalyst Health Ventures and other investors participating. It funds StimCardio's planned NeuroPulse 2 pivotal study and preparation for a De Novo submission to FDA.
What is Rhyvive?
A wrist-worn, closed-loop device combining physiological sensing with non-invasive median nerve stimulation, designed as an add-on therapy after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. It remains investigational and is not cleared or approved for sale.
What did the NeuroPulse pilot study show?
A three-center, randomized, sham-controlled pilot of 77 patients (59 in the modified intention-to-treat analysis) found 90.0% freedom from atrial arrhythmias at six months with the device versus 80.8% with sham — not statistically significant on that endpoint. A post-blanking sensitivity analysis found 12 arrhythmia events with the device versus 28 with sham (p=0.025). The company reported no device-related serious adverse events.
When could Rhyvive reach patients?
No date has been set. The Series A is intended to fund the larger NeuroPulse 2 pivotal study and prepare a De Novo submission to FDA; neither a trial start date nor a submission date has been disclosed.
